Tuesday, 3 March 2015 All
About Eve
Eve ­ malevolent catalyst, malicious, martyr, master manipulator,
Film Background ­

AAE was based on a short story, 'The Wisdom Of Eve', by Mary Orr in1946

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Mankiewicz's screenplay ­­> expanding the original narrative, recalibrating the characters and altering the ending America in 1950

­ film was set only 5 years after the devastating war in History

­ many people has lost their loved ones during the war, their loss has been a raw memory and recent memory

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Addison's accusation that Eve's invention of a dead husband is 'an insult to dead heroes and the women who loves them' would have resonated with the film's first audiences (makes eve even more of a villain ­ not just a liar but an insensitive liar

­ america was entering into a period of unprecedented economic prosperity.

­ employment were extensive and film industry was booming

­ women of this generation were largely dependent on men, economically and socially

­ few women went to further their studies (Karen) her degree does not translate into a career; instead she paints part­time as a hobby. the expectation was that women become homemakers and support their husband's aspiration, irrespective of whether they had children.
Broadway

­ considered theatrical mecca

­ competition is intense and commercial is far from guaranteed

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New York critics are notoriously harsh and their endorsement is crucial for any new venture to prosper
(Addison)
Genre

­ the film is also in part a mortality fable. In keeping with the didactic entertainment style audiences of the
1950s expected, Eve is punished for her duplicity. Her rise to fame carries a hefty price tag, and the final view of her, without her friends ad with only a drink, a cigarette and the ambiguous Phoebe for company, warns of the dangers of unchecked ambition.

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Tuesday, 3 March 2015
Furthermore, the clear parallels between Phoebe and Eve, and the eerie sense that a similar story is about to recur, reinforce the notion of justice being served.
Structure
­ the main plot­line deals with Eve's climb to success and the moral reckoning that shadows it, but there are a number of interconnected subplots
­ Margo's midlife crisis
Margo is considered 'a great actress at the peak of her career' and is in a committed relationship with a man who adores her truly and has a circle of of loyal and loving friends. Yet, happiness alludes her. Eve's encroachment into her world exacerbates Margo's insecurities about ageing, the same self­doubt that heightens her concerns about Bill's view of her. She is hesitant in committing to the relationship with Bill, not because she does not love him but she worries he is unable to tell the difference between the real Margo and the actress as she anxiously said 'if i can't tell them apart, how can he?' during Margo's monologue in the car with Karen when she reveals her true feelings to Karen.
­ Bill and Margo's relationship
Eve commits even greater betrayals when she attempts to seduce first Bill, then Lloyd. They are targeted only because they can offer Eve the potential to be a "a bright, dazzling star" as Bill is a talented director and
Lloyd is considered the most talented playwright in America. Each therefore in position to advance the career of an aspiring young actress. The fact that they belong to the very women who first befriended Eve demonstrates how unscrupulous she is prepared to be later in the film.
­ the threat to Margo and Karen's friendship
Margo & Karen friendship is in turn, jeopardised when Eve threatens to expose her for causing Margo to miss her performance considerably as her chance to has won the Sarah Siddons Awards